Nottingham Forest goalkeeper John Victor was visibly shaken when he left the pitch injured after conceding a goal against Aston Villa. The Brazilian tried in vain to intercept the ball in front of Villa midfielder John McGinn, but ran out of the area and remained on the ground after McGinn successfully scored.
Villa were leading 2-1 at this point, with goals from Ollie Watkins and Scotland star McGinn either side of half-time, and Morgan Gibbs-White reducing the gap. The home team’s third goal posed a serious challenge for their rivals as the match drew to a close.
Victor, who joined Forest from Botafogo in the summer, had to wait until December to make his first start in the Premier League. Victor retained his position despite Mats Sells returning from injury, but was replaced by the Belgian at Villa Park on Saturday.
Forest are currently anxiously waiting to see how long the 29-year-old will be out. They have another important game on the horizon, with a midweek fixture against 18th-placed West Ham.
Before the substitution was made, Sky Sports co-commentator Andy Hinchcliffe criticized the Forest keeper’s mistakes which helped Villa win 3-1. He yelled, “John Victor, what the hell are you doing?”
He added: “Stay in your area and let the defender recover. It was a terrible, terrible decision and probably cost the team the game.”
Villa won 3-1 and moved into second place. But Forest remain in 17th place, just four points above the relegation zone ahead of their clash with West Ham.
Forest will be nervous as they watch Leeds and Manchester United play tomorrow, but the Whites will have a chance to move six points clear of Forest in 16th place.
